FIFTY24SF - D-STRUCTURE - NEEDLES & PENS

FABRIC8 - ARTIST-XCHANGE - JELLYFISH

08.06.10

(with assistance from Kristin Farr and RWM)

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Fifty24SF Gallery: You Can't Win - PEZ and Joshua Blank.

Review by Kristin Farr: They say "You Can't Win," but clearly PEZ and Joshua Blank can put together a winning show. Their exhibit features soul-searching photography, beautifully modified thrift store art and classic record covers, introspective text painted on book covers, and two tons of tagged stickers. In the gallery's closet-sized installation space, a tribute to the infamous KKKatie is practically suffocated with stickers.

When you see a street post filled with stickers, there's a sense of chaos, commotion, and rebellion. When you bring this aesthetic into a gallery setting, everything changes. In this case, thanks to the keen curatorial eye of Amanda Krampf, bringing street art indoors elevates the artists' talents and offers a glimpse into the rawness and reality of their personal lives. For those who aren't running around in the darkness looking for legit graffiti, this is your chance to see an extensive collection of work by PEZ and Joshua Blank, two local artists who have stayed under the radar and on top of their game.

The show ends soon; if you miss it, hop a train and head up north. The artists have another show in September at Fifty24 PDX Gallery in Portland.

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D-Structure: Strangely Intertwined - Colin Maisonpierre.

Review by RWM: Amazing fantastical images on display, some executed with striking precision and spirit, even if not totally original. Here is a highlight of the Lower Haight Street Art Walk. These wondrous works convey emotion and energy as well. Certain pieces even surprise and astound, while occasional worrisome elements may evoke thought on other levels.

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Needles & Pens: Mark Warren Jacques & Seth Neefus - Free Life Center.

Review by Kristin Farr: Seth Neefus and Mark Warren Jacques are on a West Coast tour with their Free Life Center this summer-- the latest stop is at Needles & Pens. Hand-built and designed to travel, this modular structure is filled with symbolic objects and framed works on paper by both of these artists, who also help run Together Gallery in Portland. The Free Life Center represents the artists' desire to "inspire the viewer to find creativity, optimism, and freedom in their own lives." It is a small, cozy structure reminiscent of a 70s communal cabin. Check out www.FreeLifeCenter.com to watch videos of the installation process, read the artists' travel journal, and get information on how to invite The Free Life Center to your town.

Review by RWM: Smiles. Good cheer. Optimism and Idealism in this country house in a city gallery, decked out with beautiful inspiring art. Nice to see happiness in this gallery which at times gets mildly hijacked by those in process or by subgroups one wishes might divvy up. Cool show for the avant garde with brave art like usual.

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Fabric8 Gallery: Multifarious Tendencies.

Artists: Brett Amory, Adam Flores, Kevin Taylor, Micke Tong. Curated by Sandra Silvoy.

Comment by AB: Plucky group show comments on critical choice points that confront us going forward. Whether it's "Yes We Can," No We Can't," or worse yet-- "No We Won't"-- consequences of our actions are inevitably in the offing.

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63 Bluxome Street Gallery: Lisa Mei Ling Fong - Too Close to Home; Cait Willis - The Weak Signal Series.

Comment by AB: Autobiographical assemblage art by Lisa Mei Ling Fong recount lessons learned throughout the course of her journeys. Cait Willis' small format paintings interpret still images she takes of programs airing on a lame old TV. Quirky yet captivating.

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Artist-Xchange: Travel the World.

Artists: Kristine Brandt, Allan Pollack, Andre Nobrega, Danja Critchell, Eugene Reshetov, Idell Weiss, Jeanne Hauser, John Kraft, Julie Peisner, Karen Spratt, Lauren Girardin, Mariya Milovidova, Michael A. Levin, Mitchell Neto, Myles Mason Balsamo, Matthew Felix Sun, Todd Berman, Talavera-Ballon, Matt O'Hanlon, Hiroko Sakai.

Review by RWM, images c/o Artist-Xchange: Nice to see the world captured here for those who cannot go travelling abroad themselves. One can take piece by piece of it home right now. Though the work is somewhat commoditized, viewers will still find it exotic and anthropological. There is also beauty and a fair bit of attention paid to aspects of the local environs which connect with the wider world. The selection of art is vast with practically the whole world in one room. Cool and at times a mite alien, but comfortable and accessible nonetheless.

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